The M5's battery life is very good, too, considering the laptop's screen size. In our tests the battery held out for 7 hours, 24 minutes--about 40 minutes less than the battery life we recorded for the M3.

Though the M5 fits Intel's broad technical specifications for an Ultrabook--it has an Intel processor, is less than 21mm thick, and resumes quickly from hibernation--it is nothing like the tantalizing slivers of the first wave of Ultrabooks.

The M5 looks exactly like its immediate predecessor (the M3), and it's housed in a slim, dark silver, brushed aluminum chassis. The cover is simple, with a small raised metal Acer logo in the center, and the screen is slim and sturdy on its hinges. The interior features graceful lines with a wide wrist-rest area, a full-size keyboard, a full-size 10-key number pad, and a large off-center trackpad.

Both the keyboard and the trackpad are comfortable to use, though the keyboard suffers from smallish, slightly stiff keys. The trackpad has no discrete buttons--instead, the lower half of the pad depresses, much as the glass trackpads on Apple's MacBook line do. The trackpad is accurate and smooth, and it supports multitouch gestures. It's a little too sensitive when you aren't using it, however, which causes the mouse to jump around on the screen as you type.